ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Commerce on Thursday declared the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) to be one of the most corrupt departments in the country, and claimed it was playing with the lives of citizens.

The committee, chaired by Senator Syed Shibli Faraz, said Drap was dealing with medicines, not “shoes or towels”, and carelessness or mismanagement was not acceptable in the pharmaceutical sector.

The committee was briefed by the chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), who called Drap “a trap” for the whole industry.

“While our files are delayed for months, new products are stuck in the pipeline at the same time that all the cheap medicines are gradually vanishing from the market because they are not increasing the rates rationally,” PPMA Chairman Hamid Raza said.

He said the production of around 70 cheap medicines had stopped because of the increase in production costs, forcing patients to buy costly products.

“If the price of a simple item like folic acid is increase from Rs30 to Rs60 per 100 tablets, than it is an increase of 100pc but in real terms this is a mere increase of Rs30 – and this is because one key ingredient has increased by 300pc in the international market,” he added.

Committee members also asked about pharmaceutical exports from Pakistan and the condition of the same industry in India.

The committee was informed that Pakistan was exporting pharmaceutical products worth $300 million, while the Indian industry’s exports jumped from $1 billion in around 2005 to $20 billion in 2015.

“This is because our regulator takes months and months to give simple certifications,” Mr Raza said.

The committee members extended their support to the association, and criticised Drap for not doing enough to counter the sale and production of fake and spurious drugs.

“The delay mechanism is used to take bribes and I am sure they must be taking significant amounts from the Pharma sector,” Senator Usman Kakar said. “But what can we say about the bureaucracy, and likewise for the judiciary?”

It was decided that Drap officials would be called into the next committee meeting to present their perspective on pharmaceutical exports. The committee also took serious note of the delays in the formulation of rules for four laws enacted in September 2015: the National Tariff Commission Bill 2015, Anti-Dumping Duties Bill 2015, Countervailing Duties Bill 2015 and The Safeguard Measure (Amendment) Bill 2015.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2016